The Captain's Bait
by happytide
Summary: A sister's jealousy, a mermaids purity, and a pirates lack of moral fiber were the only elements needed to send Aquala on an adventure across the seven seas with none other then Captain Jack Sparrow. Aquala has a secret. Jack needs bait.


Chapter 1

I had lost all sense of sound, surrounding and sight. A steady pulse rocked through my mind and body leaving no room for wonder. It wasn't just a pulse but a thud that left pain in it's wake. Each thud brought me closer and to consciousness and pain.

With a sudden gasp of breath I lurched forward into alertness and my eyes flew wide open. All I could see was a foggy blue haze that was so close to being white it was blinding. Was that the sky?

"Ughnh," I groaned in pain and shut my eyes again. I could hardly hear my own voice over the rhythmic thud in my temples. It created an odd echoing noise throughout my head. As I brought a shaking hand to my forehead I realized how _hot _it was. My skin felt _baked. _How long had I been laying in the sun? My fingers felt odd. So did my arms. Every part of my body just felt _odd_. I rubbed them together to find sand between them. Where was I..

I opened my eyes again, this time wary of the blinding bright sky. For the first time I noticed the faint sound of rushing water splashing onto a shore. The frantic feeling of being exposed immediately hit me. I felt so out in the open.

I slowly fought to sit up, urging back the nauseating pain that was laced throughout my body to go away. I felt strangely disconnected from my body. As if it wasn't mine but a strangers. Through blurry eyes I could see the push and pull of the ocean shore. I was indeed on a beach and only several yards away from the water.

My body immediately reacted to the sight of water and started to pull itself towards the water on instinct. Water meant shelter, _safety_. I could almost feel the salty water through my pores. I didn't know how I ended up in this predicament but I wasn't planning on waiting to find out. I dug my hands into the sand before me like claws and began to drag the weight of my body towards the water.

The moment I began to move my body I knew there was something wrong. I stopped my movements to assess my situation. My eyes instinctively traveled slowly down my body doing a mental inventory. Why did I feel so off balance? Uneven? It felt almost although I was missing my…

My tail! My eyes shot to the lower half of my body and I immediately let out a sound of shock. "Eghh!" I knew that mermaids formed legs when out of water but I'd never been out of water, neither seen it happen. So the bewildering sight of the two long _structures _extended from my lower half was…unwelcome. Legs! That belonged to me!

Without need for further encouragement I started to drag myself towards the water once more this time in panic. The sooner I was in the water the sooner I would have my tail back. And the sooner I could find my sisters.

As I started to moving I noticed something strange. The more I moved the dizzier I became. Just as I was only a few feet away I could feel my body begin to shut down. It was so frustrating to be this close to the water when body decided to shutdown. With one final tug I fell in a heap. I couldn't move any more. All the my previous energy had completely vacated my body, leaving me as I breathing corpse. The salt water splashed teasingly at my finger tips. Blackness fringed on the edges of my sight.

Not knowing what else to do, I did the only thing I could do. I called for my sisters. "Morveren!" It was meant to be a cry for help but came out as a rasped plea. Could they even here me? Where they even any where near? I tried again. "Syrena! Adora! Cidra!" The black was closing in now. " Florka. Kaptolina. Sisters…" I voice was hardly audible now.

No one was coming to help me. I was somehow lost. I was going to end up like all those poor mermaids who had been stranded on land with no place to go. Death. That's what was next. It was a chilling and scary fact that I was ready to exept.

But then again, was it possible that this was just a dream? How else could my predicament be explained? Why else would I wake up on an unrecognizable beach with legs. This was certainly not the place I had fallen asleep. Infact, I didn't even remember falling skill. Everything that had taken place right before I'd woken up was an indistinct blur. But some deeper part of me, the part that relied on instinct, told me this was in fact reality.

With one final ragged breath I rasped out the one name that meant the most, "Aquila," and let the blackness completely cloud my mind and body. I was lost and even my closest sister was going to find me this time.

"It's bad luck I tell ye'. Bad luck."

"What be da' chances of us stumblin' upon a naked beauty such as this. Good luck is what I be callin' it!"

"Aye! The best!"

I woke up to sound of voices. They were deep and rough. The voices of…men? I was alive! And from the tilting and rocking of my limp body I realized I was being moved. No carried. But by whom and to where? I didn't dare move and alert them to the fact that I had gained consciousness. Instead I kept my eyes and lips sealed and listened in. If I was in the hands of men then I was good as dead.

"Yee both be fools! I'm not the only who saw that strange tattoo on her chest am I? For all we know she could be some kind of sea witch. It be the worst of luck to have a woman on board. Not to mention she was stranded on an island without a scrap of clothing on. There be somethin' strange 'bout this lass, I tell ye' that much." This came from a gruff voice to my left.

"Yer just a superstitious old man, Gibs." This voice was coming from right by my ear. My carrier. I resisted the urge to squirm away. It was a strange sensation to know I was only centimeters away from a living, breathing man. The steady footstep slogging through sand suddenly changed to that of boots hitting a wooden plank. Where were they taking me?

"'Ow bout we just let de captain decide," Another voice said. Captain? Perhaps I was on a ship?

"Let the captain decide _what_?" A new voice bellowed. The voice deep, scratchy, and not at all attractive. Instantly the men around me stilled and one brave soul spoke up. Gibs.

"Captain! While we were circlin' the island fer supplies we found this lass stranded up on de' beach. We thought we'd let ye' decide what do with her. I thought it be best not haven' a woman abroad-"

"Yes Gibs! We all know about yer little superstitions." The captain cut him off rudely. "Put'er down here and let meh have a look at 'er." I felt my body being lowered to the deck of ship until I could feel the uncomfortable splintered wood against the skin of my back. I could hear and feel someone's boots hitting the wood slowly until they were right by my face. I got that tingly feeling right on my nose just knowing on instinct something was close to my face.

"Pretty little thing, ain't she?" I had to fight not to wrinkle my nose at the horrid whisky breath. Around me I heard the chuckles of men. A pointy object dug into my cheek and turned my face this way and that. It felt like a knife. Trying to remain still was becoming painful. "An' ye' say you found 'er on the beach? No clothes?"

"Aye captain. I put my shirt on 'er to protect her modesty. But there on her chest is the strangest tattoo." Gibs declared.

"Tattoo ye' say?" The captain muttered and slid the knife down my chest to push away the fabric. What was this Gibs man talking about? My chest was as unblemished as the day I was born. The was a brief silence before the captain spoke again.

"Men! I 'ave excellent news for ye! It seems the fates have graced us with the _best _of luck!" The captain declared loudly, retreating from my face and standing up.

"Told ye'." Someone muttered.

"Dis lass right 'ere be no ordinary gal!" The captain continued. He knew I was a mermaid? How could he so easily know! Horrid things happened to mermaids in the hands of men! My eyes flew open forgetting caution and landed on the black boots in front of me. My eyes scanned up to find a bared arm with a P clearly branded into the skin.

"Pirate." I whispered in shock. My eyes locked onto the yellowy gaze of the "captain". He was a retched looking man with splotchy skin and a ill suited blue uniform.

"Gag her! Now you fools!" The captain shouted out orders and lunged at me grabbing my face and clamping a hand over my mouth. On pure instinct I bared my fangs and sunk my, now sharp teeth into the hand. The captain hooted in pain and I rolled out from beneath him. The sight that greeted me was beautiful and just what I wanted to see. Just over the edge of the deck was the ocean. Just as I was about to scramble my way towards the water I felt someone grab a fist full of my hair and jerked me backwards. I hissed in pain and tumbled into the arm of my captors. I let out an inhuman screech before a fist connected with my jaw to shut me up. I swung back my elbow in retaliation and it sunk into someone's unsuspecting gut. One man behind me grunted in pain and I grinned. Before I could try for another attempt at escape the butt of a man's gun cracked against my cheek, sending stars flying across my vision. I felt the rough texture of a cloth being bound across my mouth. Course rope was soon bounded around my wrists and ankles so that I had no place to go.

I slumped in defeat and let the men dragg me to my knees in front of the pirate. Captain. Whichever.

"As I was sayin!" The yellow eyed man before me bellowed, his haunting gaze directly on me. "This lass be no ordinary gal as ye' can see!" He said holding up a bloody hand. I noticed with satisfaction that the pinky was missing thanks to me.

"What is she then?" I bewildered man asked from behind me.

The captain's lips pulled back to reveal teeth even more yellow than his eyes. I believe he was smiling. No grinning. "A mermaid, men!"

The men exploded into round of cheering and hollering. They were so happy! Disgusting! The whole lot of them.

"That's impossible! What's a mermaid be doin all they way out on a English island? The closest mermaid nest would be Isla Sirena! And that's not close at all." The man named Gibs exclaimed in wonder.

"Aye! She's a mermaid far from home but a mermaid none the less!" The captain hollered.

"What would you have us do wit' 'er den captain Barbosa?" A man asked.

"Throw her in deh brig fer now! She wont be of much use to us until the end of our journey. The rest of ye get back to work!" Captain Barbosa shouted, leaving one man to escort me to the brigs. The captain focused his attention back on me and grinned. I met his gaze with a cold stare and spat blood onto the ground near his boots.

"Oh and I ain't a pirate no more lass. It's _privateer _now."


End file.
